Mercedes is not used to taking risks, Red Bull is. The consideration comes after the United States GP which allowed Max Verstappen to double the tally of points (12) ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the splendid battle for the drivers’ championship.
Austin was supposed to be a pro black arrows circuit and the Honda men themselves would have declared themselves more than satisfied in leaving Texas with the Dutchman still in the lead in the world championship standings.
It is true that the 2021 season is unpredictable and the forecasts are punctual, but it certainly did not escape that in the first free practice session on Friday the Mercedes had signed a double, trimming Red Bull a significant gap of more than nine tenths.
Mercedes W12: The rear suspension has been questioned by Red Bull
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
And what happened then? There was the domination of the RB16B. In qualifying as in the race. The amazing departure of Lewis Hamilton from second place was not enough to change the course of an American race controlled with sagacity and lucidity by Verstappen who proved to be a mature tactician, capable of simmering the seven-time world champion, making so the disappointment even stronger.
But to understand what happened, we need to go back to free practice: Red Bull, for the second time in a row after Turkey, made a mistake in the RB16B resolution and presented itself on the track with a car that, due to the exasperated Rake set-up. , bulged with the front wing and the splitter, risking to do a lot of damage.
Mercedes, which does not use the beaten suspension, has focused on a car very low to the ground to produce maximum downforce. Brackley’s technicians, however, had not given due consideration to the bumps and holes in Austin: the W12s ruined the T-tray and the bottom in that first round on the bumps of the snake.
And after Friday, the world changed: Red Bull reduced the rake angle, after Sebastien Buemi spent the night at the Milton Keynes simulator to decide on the solution that least penalized the performance of the RB16B, while James’s engineers Allison raised the black arrow to the point where the car was not in danger of breaking the bottom on the deadly bumps.
In essence, the Star did not want to take chances, while Adrian Newey who loves the risk, deliberated a car that continued to make conspicuous sparks from the bottom, but did not want Milton Keynes’ car to lose too much downforce.
And the world has magically turned upside down: at Red Bull they knew they were facing some unknowns about reliability, but in a typically English style they favored the pursuit of performance over safety, while the world champion team remained faithful to its philosophy.
The Mercedes W12 power unit
Photo by: Uncredited
Mercedes, therefore, has lost the advantage of exploiting a more powerful power unit by having to resort to more loaded wings (in Texas you need a high-load aerodynamic set-up) than Red Bull with greater resistance to forward movement.
Proof? Just look at the top speeds of the race with Verstappen capable of 324.2 km / h at the speed trap, 3.1 km / h better than Hamilton who did not go beyond 321.1 km / h.
An important change in the outcome of the weekend: Red Bull, moreover, had to ask the FIA to reinforce the rear wing with carbon skins after cracks appeared on the main profile, after the violent stresses suffered by the car of Max, but they did not touch the trim.
Red Bull Racing RB16B, detail of the reinforced rear wing before qualifying
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
The key to success, without diminishing Verstappen’s role, is all there. And whoever brought up the rear suspension of the W12 is wrong: Red Bull had written to the FIA claiming that Mercedes had the rear diffuser stalled by lowering the rear with a questionable movement on the straight.
The International Federation has ruled that the Brackley system is perfectly legal, similar and not extreme as that used by seven other teams in the paddock. In short, a shot out of the jar which, however, served to put further pressure on a Mercedes that is not used to feeling breath on the neck.
It is worth mentioning that the suspension is homologated and cannot be changed except in the adjustments: having raised the car in Austin certainly may have made it more difficult for the diffuser to stall and what could have been an advantage for Mercedes, may have having turned into a handicap.
Now there are two away matches, Mexico and Brazil, which will play in favor of Red Bull. Mercedes has lost the greatest opportunity to reopen the Drivers’ World Championship but those who do not risk do not gain anything …
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